THE LATE SHOW

THE RHINO ROOM

11pm most nights – All fringe

If you are looking at the Fringe guide, scratching your head about what to comedy to go see, the Rhino Rooms LATE SHOW is the perfect place to start. Most nights of the Fringe you’ll get a line up of around six to eight top notch stand ups doing ten minute spots. You never quite know who you’re going to get, but that’s half the fun of it. In the past they’ve had everybody from Arj Barker, Dead Cat Bounce, you name them they’ve played the Late Show. Opening night of this years Late Show season featured Bec Hill, Adam Keily, Talking Poofy, Jeff Green, Dave Thornton, Rob Hunter and Michael Bowley with host Dave Callan gluing the whole thing together. The beauty of this format is the acts are generally doing really good material to encourage you to come and see their full shows and as an audience you may well catch somebody fantastic that you may not have otherwise considered giving your hard earned bucks too. Tonight that definitely happened with Talking Poofy whose high camp, bitchy ramshackle performance had the whole room in stitches. Jeff Green, originally from the UK, but as his shows title explains I Live Here Now, has really well written material, is a highly professional performer and probably the most traditional of the comedy on offer tonight. The local Adelaide comedians represent fantastically well too. Adam Keily’s material about his life as an IT guy and living with his dad was great. Michael Bowley and Dave Thornton (hot off his first appearance on Good News Week) were both crowd favourites. Rob Hunter is unusual for a local comic. It’s never quite straight ahead stand-up, his nervous & harassed persona often interrupted by a supporting cast of other characters and his spot turned into a lonely hearts spot for a fellow cast member. My favourite this evening was Bec Hill, Adelaide girl, turned Melbourne girl and currently London girl literally straight off the plane and direct to the Rhino. Armed with her trusty sketch book she has a great line in ‘pop-up book’ visuals absurdist humour, great observations and cracking gags. I am very much looking forward to her show (Bec Hill Didn’t Want to Play your Stupid Game Anyway) starting in the second fortnight of this years Fringe. So no excuses – get yourself down to the Rhino Late Show and some laughs into you. Or out of you. Whatever.

Ian Bell